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Keesler Medical Center is the second largest medical center
in the Air Force serving over 56,000 beneficiaries and 26,000
outpatients in the Mississippi area per month. This facility
also serves as the Federal Coordinating Center for the National
Disaster Medical System. Equipped with operating impatient beds
and a staff of more than 2,000 people, the center also functions
as a teaching center for graduate students.
Last renovated in 1958, Keesler selected Syska Hennessy Group
to modernize and expand their pre-existing LDR and Mother Baby
Units within its 52,000 sq. ft. facility. The objective of the
project was to create a new state of the art environment, complete
with a flexible infrastructure to accommodate future technology.
As a unit dedicated to caring for expectant mothers, Syska was
tasked with the challenge of renovating the space within a live
environment, thus limiting interruptions to patient care and
ensuring against infection during design, construction and testing
of the facility.
Where Do We Start? Using Syska’s proprietary Outcome
E²C™ process,,
a collaboration with our engineering team, our construction management
team and staff members at the Medical Center allowed us to perform
and complete an infection control risk assessment report. The
Outcome E²C™ process places the engineer in the lead
role, driving the team to provide the best technical solution,
through innovative design, permitting, and construction processes.
In doing so, our team was able to define the end user space into
one of four (4) different types: Inspection and no-invasive activities;
Small scale, short duration; Moderate to high level; and Major
demolition and construction projects.
Solutions provided to our client as a result of our approach
include the development of a stacked construction process, limiting
the interruption to patient care and enabling us to sequence
the completion of the project within an 18 month timeframe, 6
months ahead of schedule. In addition, an external elevator was
designed and built to create anti-rooms to further protect against
infection. A new sprinkler system was installed within a fire
wall before demolishing the existing system, saving both time
and money. Both of these solutions were a result of our design,
construction, and facilities management teams working together
at the programming phase. This integrated team worked together
throughout the life cycle of the project, testing of the facility,
and training the internal facilities team to operate their newly
renovated, technical Mother Baby Units.
Throughout the process, Syska’s role grew from one of
a technical consultant to trusted business partner – working
side by side with the client to develop viable solutions.
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